Fly or Die
by 666XxXDarkheartXxX666
Summary: A fourteen year old girl grows into a hero with some help from the flock...and her new wings. But the school is back, and loaded with new tricks. They want her in their labs and away from the flock. Dead or Alive.
1. Redemption

Disclaimer-I own this character and this character alone.

I crouched on the terrace of the tall building in downtown. A tear streaked my cheek and I brushed it away. The night was cold, but I didn't care. My heart was colder. I let out a choking sob as I pulled my knees tighter to my chest. I was just a kid. I was only fourteen as of that month and as if my life wasn't screwed up enough, let's ad some horribly painful mutations.

I was a freak. I thought I was weird before, but I was particularly weird now. It had happened on the day of my birthday. After everyone had gone home and I was putting my stereo back into my room, hooking everything back up when this sharp pain like someone was ripping out my shoulder blades made itself known. I screamed in pain and collapsed on the floor but no one was there to hear me.

My mom was gone. She was over at a friends house, helping with some errands, living her life, and her mistake of a daughter was hunched on the floor…_sprouting wings_.

They were small at first, but they grew fast, and hurt more and more every time they did, but I learned to keep them hidden. What would my mom think if she found out that I was a mutant freak? She'd hate me for sure!

I sniffled and looked over my knees and arms, into the deep darkness of the night. Below, the cars growled as they moved down the street and the buildings shook a bit when an airplane passed low over head. I stood up and brushed the dust from my dark jeans and black jacket and peered over the edge.

You know, it's bad enough that I was a disgrace to the human race, but it was even worse since I was also a disgrace to other mutants…if there where any. Yep, that's right folks, laugh it up. I couldn't fly.

I didn't know how. My wings seemed like they where fully grown now, and they hurt much less. I hadn't had a sudden growth spurt in over a week, and my feathers weren't down fluff anymore. Tonight was the night. I pulled my jacket off and held it firmly in my hand as I pulled out my pocket knife and opened it.

Here goes nothing. I stabbed the black fabric in the back, right about where the inside of my shoulder blade would be, then cut a long, thin hole, and repeated so on the other side. After gently sliding my wings through the slots and zipping up my jacket, I replaced y pocket knife into my pocket and looked over the edge. I spat and watched it fall to the ground.

While simultaneously growing wings, I also developed an acute sense of smell, hearing, and sight so I could see and hear the spit basically until it hit the ground.

Or the shoulder of the homeless guy who thought he'd been pooped on by a bird. In reality, he'd been spat on by a bird kid, but close enough.

It was a long drop, but the shock of the distance had faded since I had climbed up there previously about five or ten times. I looked up at the sky. The black night sky was blotched with grey clouds that glowed in the moonlight. I took one last glance at my watch.

It was 11:30; Time to fly. I extended my wings, stretched, then stepped to the edge.

Begin countdown.

10

9

8

I sighed and looked down at the streets below.

7

6

I heaved a sigh and looked straight ahead again

5

4

I closed my eyes and extended my arms again.

3

2

One last thought crossed my mind. It was the memory of what my mom used to tell me before I dived into a pool. She used to always warn me about the edge of the pool because she was afraid that I would smash my face on the rim and break my teeth, so she made me jump a bit when I dived in.

"All right, mom." I whispered as a tear streaked my cheek and ran down to my chin.

1

I leaned forward, and then leapt forward a bit. It was enough to propel me away from the edge.

I fell fast and hard but I forced my wings down and steadied myself, then slowly climbed a bit and coasted. I was flying.


	2. Cats

Hey, thanks so much for the reviews, I'm so glad to read them!

Disclaimer: I own these characters, but not the main idea of winged kids from the school and stuff.

The morning brought only pain for me. My shoulders ached and I slumped out of bed with no intention of actually accomplishing anything that day. The house was empty and the only sounds that I could hear where the creaking floors and my creaking body.

I cracked my neck as I stumbled into the bathroom and turned the water on. I let the faucet run as I stared at my reflection. I looked like road kill, as usual. I pulled my jacket off and stretched my wings a bit. My shoulders burned and all my joints where sore. I fished the aspirin out from the cabinet and popped three in my mouth, then stuck my face straight into the water after grabbing a hold of my hair so that it didn't get wet.

I swallowed some water and let my face soak for a moment until my lungs screamed for air. After drying my face, I drained the sink and slumped out into the living room.

I hit the button on the TV as I passed and then continued into the kitchen. Food was scarce, but I wasn't hungry. My appetite had dropped to close to nothing in the past few weeks. I opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water, then shuffled back into the living room.

The hairs on the back of my neck bristled.

The TV was off. My head swiveled and I strained my ears for any sound. The high pitched whine of a high powered gun charging sounded behind me and I spun around. There was a cat, no a ware cat standing in my living room with a gun aimed at me.

"Don't move." It commanded.

"Good luck." I answered before turning sharp and powering towards my room.

The really nice thing about having a really big house is that there are often a large number of balconies with sliding glass doors. This was the same for my house.

I yanked the door open and threw my wings open as I threw myself through the door.

Some of you may be thinking "Way too easy." Well, you're right.

Two more of those cat things jumped off the roof and pinned me to the floor. I rolled over and swung my arm through the air, smashing my fist into one of their furry faces, and then kneed another in the gut.

I managed to shove one off and get a good look at the other. It had two long fangs sticking out of it's mouth, like saber teeth. Then I remembered something I had seen on the Discovery Channel. Paleontologists had said that saber tooth tiger's fangs where really weak if forced under pressure from the sides.

I grabbed a hold of its fangs and yanked them apart. They snapped off and I smiled maniacally. The cat thing rolled off of me with a loud groan. I reached for the rail and pulled myself up, then threw myself into the air, beating my wings hard.

I rose unsteadily, then fell back as one of the cat freaks latched onto my leg. While still rising, I turned my head and nailed it in the face with my boot. It made a squealing, growling noise and fell backwards, and then hit the ground.

Yes! Score one for the kid with wings!

I felt accomplished and lost at the same time. I didn't know where I was going, but I was getting there fast. I could seriously get used to the flying thing. After coasting high in the clouds for a while, I decided to go downtown and hide out in the abandoned buildings for a while. At least I'd be hidden for a while.

I took one last paranoid look behind me; nothing but blue skies all around. At least those stupid cats stayed on the ground.


	3. You and I alike

I stayed low the whole way through the city. I'd never felt so exposed before in my life, but in a way, I felt like spider man. I discovered that I could bounce off of the buildings like cat woman or something, throwing myself around over the glass faces of the tall structures with ease. It was clumsy at first, but I got the hang of it pretty fast. There weren't many people on the streets yet because it was still somewhere around 6 AM.

I was perfectly all right with that.

I found a cluster of abandoned buildings and contemplated which one to inhabit. I chose the one that looked least likely for a teardown candidate.

I circled once, then swooped down through a glassless window frame and landed clumsily, stumbling across the empty room. The building was either an apartment building or a hotel in a past life, and you could tell if ever you were misfortunate enough to find yourself flying into it for a landing.

There was no furniture, and the walls were losing their paint. I opened the door and stepped out into the hall, then looked each way. I'm not quite sure what exactly I was expecting, but I didn't see anything.

I turned and silently moved down the hall, letting my wings hang a bit. I hummed a bit to myself, trying to find a way to entertain myself while I passed the time. The hairs on the back of my neck bristled again. From my previous experiences with bristling neck hairs, I knew someone was close to me. I spun around, ready to fight, or bust out of there like an angry gorilla with wings.

My eyes met those of a tall, thin boy about my age.

"Hey, take it easy." He leaned back a bit, slightly surprised. Maybe he was just trying to dodge my swinging fists.

I relaxed a bit, letting my arms hang, but I stayed on alert.

"It's all right, I'm like you." He spoke again.

Yeah, right.

"You have no idea what I'm like, trust me." I answered, feeling slightly higher than him because I knew something he didn't.

"No, I mean wings and all." He extended two dark black wings with a grey tint.

Okay, maybe he did have an idea of what I'm like.

"What's your name?" I asked, rocking back on my heels.

"Shadow."

I let out a snort like laugh. "I mean your real name."

"That is my real name."

"What kind of parents would name their kid Shadow?"

"I don't have any parents."

"Oh…Sorry…"

Awkward silence.

"If you don't have parents then where'd you come from?"

"The Stretch."

"The what?"

"The stretch, you know, the insane science lab for Recombinant DNA experiments, brain on a stick, Erasers?"

I stared blankly, trying to comprehend the insane babble that was coming from his mouth.

His bright green eyes stared back into mine, searching for some evidence of life.

"Nope, I got nothing." I stated.

"Let me explain. You see those wings on your back? Yeah, sorry to rain on your parade, but you're not an angel." I flexed and relaxed my black wings, crossing my arms as I listened to him trying to make sense of what he had previously said.

"You are the equal end of a complicated math problem including human and bird DNA as well as some other little perks."

"Great." I muttered.

"More than you know." He answered with equal enthusiasm.

"So what are Erasers?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"They are other genetic mutations that have been trained and bred to hunt down and kill escaped experiments."

"Experiments meaning us." I stated, half a question, half a shot in the dark.

"Bingo."

"Okay, so how do I stay away from the Erasers and stay alive?"

"Stick with us." This instantly begged so many questions.

"Us?" I asked.

"Come on, I'll show you." He turned around, tucking his wings in a bit to fit down the hall. I followed him without question. Something about him told me that he could be trusted.

But I stayed on guard. Just incase.

He led me down the hall and turned into the room at the end of the hall. There where four other kids there. Three guys and a girl. Two guys looked about our age but the girl was younger. She was about eight to ten and seemed a bit scared.

She had backed herself into a corner, her knees pulled tight to her chest and her face hidden behind her dirt covered arms. I caught sight of a tear running down her cheek and instantly, I knew exactly what was wrong.

My mind went into mother mode and I became instantly loaded with enough hugs to be mother Teresa.

I crossed the room in a few long strides and crouched before the girl, then planted my butt on the dirty floor and sat cross legged. Her hazy blue eyes looked up at me and she sniffled.

"Hey there, it'll be all right. No need for tears." I spoke in a soft, quiet voice and gave a kind smile.

She relaxed just a bit and sniffled again.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Belle." She answered in a quiet voice after a few sniffles.

"My name's Harley." I answered before her stomach growled. "Why don't we go get you something to eat?" The second I mentioned food, her mood changed, she put down her arms and looked up at me like I was her savior.

"You have food?" I heard a voice behind me and looked over my shoulder to see everyone looking at me.

"I have money, and I can get food." I answered, pulling my wallet from my back pocket.

One of the boys punched the air as if overjoyed because I had le mullah.

I smiled a bit and stood up.

"What do you say?" I asked as I looked down at the little girl.

She smiled and stood, whipping her tears from her face as she nodded.


	4. My Flock?

(Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the MR books)

At six thirty in the morning, what was possibly to be my new flock stretched their wings and gathered around me.

I decided that it would be easier to take off from the roof, so they lined up and we shuffled down the hall, then up the stairs. The stairwell was dark and creepy, but they seemed to barely mind, all except for Belle who gripped my hand for dear life the whole way up the stairs.

There was me and Belle in front, me in front more than her since she found comfort hiding behind me as we walked. I wasn't all for the tight, enclosed space with no windows either, but we had to get to the roof and the elevator would have been cruel and unnatural torture.

Then there was Kage. He was the youngest of the boys, almost exactly my age. He had shaggy blonde hair that partly covered his intense blue eyes. His wings were grey along the top, then white farther down, like a crane I'd seen before on Animal planet.

Flare followed after Kage. He was a year older than me and his hair was dark, blood red with streaks of blonde and strawberry blonde. His wings were a dark crimson and the tips and outsides of his feathers were darker red, almost black. His eyes were the same blood red as his wings and seemed to be shadowed in black.

After them was Wolf. He was about Flare's age and his hair was a dark grey color that stuck out in all directions. His features were rough and his eyes were a hazy green. His wings were Black with a grey tint when the light hit them.

Shadow was bringing up the rear. I almost jumped every time I turned around because he was so much taller than all the rest that he loomed over all of us. I turned the last corner and pushed the door open.

Well, tried. It was stuck. I started to feel like a mouse in a cage and felt a burst of energy rush through me.

"Step back." I commanded, pushing Belle back towards the others. She slipped between Wolf and Flare's legs, fitting like a puzzle piece as she watched me. I picked two points on the door, then found an even in between where the pressure would be applied to the whole door. I then lifted my arms and swung my leg up to a bit higher than my hips, kicking the door out. It flew open and bounced off of the wall.

I motioned for them to follow me after I poked my head out and scanned the area. It was clear. No cat people, no people at all. The cool misty air rushed past me, ruffling my feathers as it flowed into the stairwell.

We emptied out onto the roof and I peaked over the edge while I pulled my wallet out to see how much money I had. Unfortunately, I was low on cash, maybe 20 bucks or so. But I knew where I could get more.

It would mean facing the cat people again.

But I couldn't bring the others with me and risk their lives.

"Wait here." I commanded after making up my mind.

"Why? Where are you going?" Shadow asked, watching me suspiciously.

"I have to get back to my house for some more money." I answered.

"Why can't we come?" Flare asked, stepping to Shadow's side.

"Because I was attacked by those cat people things earlier and I don't know if they're still there." I answered again, getting a bit annoyed.

"Third level Erasers." Shadow corrected.

"We're going with you." Kage stated as he and Belle stepped beside Shadow. They all watched me, waiting for any attempt to change their minds. That clearly wasn't going to happen.

"All right, fine. But when we get there, you guys stay in the air while I scope out the house. When it's clear, you can come down, deal?" I managed to throw together that little plan spur of the moment.

They all agreed, and we took off into the air, rising until we where above the thin clouds that dotted the sky.

We flew in an arrow formation the whole way.

It looked something like this;

Me

Shadow Belle

Kane Wolf

Flare

When we arrived over my house, I led them into a circle pattern, then banked hard right and dropped out.

I landed a bit more gracefully than before and looked up at them. They all circled, overlapping each other in certain areas as they flew at different heights.

I jumped the balcony rail and scanned the area, listening for any noises. None came.

The erasers where gone as far as I could tell, but I decided to scope out the whole house to be sure. I folded my wings tight against my back and stepped into my room.

Empty.

I moved down the hall, pushing open the door to the bathroom, the spare rooms, my mom's room, ect, until I made my way all throughout the house. I circled back and exited out of the house onto the balcony next to my room.

I looked up at the others still circling in the sky with perfect unison. Keeping my eyes on them, I opened my wings and leapt into the air, beating my wings hard. I rose fast, then slowed the rapid movement and climbed at a steady pace.

I joined in with the others, circling, dipping, and rising according to their movements.

"Clear?" Shadow asked as he circled above me.

"Clear." I answered with a nod, keeping perfect alignment with him.

"Then what are we still doing up here?" Wolf asked as he glanced up at us through the loose strands of his dark hair.

"I don't know, but it's fun." I answered as I put a bit more speed into my turn.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Flare nodded, twirling in the other direction.

I turned a bit sharper, and flew a bit faster, closing my eyes. But my new wings couldn't handle the weight of the pull and my left wing collapsed, sending my cascading to the side.

Stupid gravity.

But I didn't fall far. I threw out my wings to steady myself, but resisted flapping because I could feel someone coming close.

I couldn't see for a moment, but felt my weight lifting off of my wings. I looked around to see another pair of black wings arching around me.

"You need to be more careful." Shadow warned as I looked up at his bright green eyes.

I blushed and looked away, praying that he'd missed my tomato colored face.

We landed and I led the flock into the house, then gave them free range of the whole house.

They made about ten combinations of the strangest food I'd ever heard of and downed it all. After we cleaned up the kitchen and the boys went into the back yard to play air soccer while Belle napped in my room, Shadow and I sat on the roof and talked.

He told me all about Maximum Ride. And after a while, I knew everything he did about Itex and the school. I felt so accomplished.

"So you've had your wings since you where little?" I asked, watching the birds fluttering over the treetops.

My house just happened to be tucked back in the forest that skirted the city.

"Yeah, you haven't?" He looked at me a bit puzzled and I slowly shook my head.

Just as I began to feel like we were close in comparison inside and out, I fell to feeling like the outcast again.

"No, mine started to grow in about three or four weeks ago." I stared down at the roof tiles.

"Oh." He nodded and looked away.

We found ourselves in silence again, just listening to the birds and the wind.

"Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally. Their silver claws gleamed as "Hello, little bird." A cold voice came from behind us and I turned just in time to see an Eraser morph fully.

Since the last of the wolf Erasers where killed off, I guess they decided that cats where a better direction.

There where five or six standing before us, grinning maniacally.

We didn't wait for them to strike. I hurled my foot at its face but it blocked it.

I wasn't about to let those overgrown house cats hurt my flock.

Wait, pause.

Did I just think that?

I used the cat's arm as leverage and lifted myself off the ground, bringing my other knee up to its face.

I grabbed its ears and kicked it in the stomach, then grabbed the thick fur on the back of its neck and opened my wings, lifting it up into the air as I caught a glimpse of Shadow punching one out, then swinging it into another.

I lifted the fur ball up a few feet, then hurled it at the others, knocking them down like bowling pins. Most of them fell off of the roof and scattered, but one stayed for a moment.

"Give it up, kid. We're going to get you, dead or alive." I stared at it until it jumped off of the roof and ran after the others, my expression that of sheer anger, hiding my fear.

They where after me.


	5. Choices are better with kisses

I had a choice to make.

I liked these kids, they where special and all really neat, but I was putting them in danger. The School was after me; not them. And they would kill whoever got in their way without hesitation.

I also had to take a look at the bigger picture, but that would have to wait until I was open for another life changing hurtle.

We would have to split. It was too risky for them to stay with me.

I moved down the hall, dragging my feet. I didn't want to split, but we had to. We had to for their safety.

I would have to take this alone.

I slid my backpack on and squeezed through the back door. It was morning again and the sky had hazed over with fog drifting in from the ocean. That happened almost every morning in San Diego.

I sighed as I looked up at the soft light of the sky. The sun hadn't quite risen yet because it was still about 4:30 AM.

The flock had spent the night at my house, occupying the spare bedrooms. I was glad I could offer them a sense of comfort. I was sure that was something they didn't feel often.

I sighed as I stepped out into the yard.

"Hey." I heard Shadow's deep, quiet voice behind me and almost jumped.

But that wasn't like me.

"Where are you going?" He asked as he silently stepped up beside me.

I heaved a sigh. "Away. I have to leave because…because the school is after me and I can't risk you guys getting hurt." I answered all at once, my courageous speech coming out in a mumble, complete with water works.

"But you can't…" I looked at him for just a moment, hearing the shadow of emotion in his voice. He didn't strike me as the type to care about anyone other than his flock.

"I have to." I answered sternly, trying to hold my composed expression.

Of course, I failed miserably.

"Please don't go. The others, they like you, they need you." He protested.

I gave him a questioning look.

"For the first time in a while, these kids felt like they where a family instead of just a bunch of freaks. They like you. They like the way you care about them and take care of them and respect them for who they are. Heck, they even like the way you enforce rules!"

That was probably the longest cluster of sentences he'd ever uttered at once.

I looked down at the floor.

"I need you. I'm not good at this leadership thing." He added, his voice taking a lower, but more desperate tone.

"No." I shook my head and turned away. "I have to go, I can't…"

He grabbed my arm and pulled me back, pressing my back to the wall before pressing his soft lips to mine for a long moment, then pulling away, still pinning me down.

"I'm not any good at this, so I'm just gonna put it plain and simple. If you leave, we'll follow you. We need to stick together. These kids need you, they like you, and if you abandon them, they'll probably never recover."

Well, he couldn't have done a better job. I had to hand it to him. For not being good at that kind of thing, he was pretty good at it.

"All right fine, but we need to get away from this house. The school knows we're here, and they'll keep coming back." I gave up, reluctantly.

He nodded without hesitation. He smirked and I glared at him, daring him to say anything. I had given in pretty easily, but if he said anything about it, I'd clobber him.

We went back into the house and I locked the door, slightly paranoid thinking about the Erasers.

I set my backpack on the couch and rummaged around the house for stuff to take. I found a few of my mom's spare credit cards and I slipped them into my pocket. I knew all the pin numbers to all of her cards so that wouldn't be an issue.

After collecting a few things from around the house including my lap top and ipod, I made my way to the basement door.

Next to the staircase, under the stairs was a door that led to another staircase. The basement was creepy and dark as well as damp. The dirt circulated all the time and never seemed to settle. I pulled out a box of cloths from when I was younger and held the flashlight in my mouth as I pulled the lid off.

The floorboards creaked behind me and I gripped the lid, and then whirled it around, making contact. It was Shadow and he had blocked the box lid with his arm.

"Hey, it's just me." He stated as I lowered the lid.

"Sorry." I chirped apologetically.

"No worries." He answered as he knelt beside me. "Whacha doin?"

"Just looking through some boxes of old cloths." I answered as I pulled out a few large T-shirts and a pair of jeans as well as two sweat shirts.

He pulled a box off of another box and opened it. "Wow, you had a lot of shoes." He commented as he lifted a pair of sneakers and set them next to the pile.

"And I still do." I replied with a smile.

When we'd been through almost all of the boxes except for a few, we carried the cloths up into the house and he followed me into the laundry room.

I separated the cloths according to color and all the dirtiest ones went first. Into the washer they went along with a serious amount of detergent.

Shadow watched curiously, trying to figure out what I was doing, but he didn't ask.

When I was done with the first load, I shut the washer and hopped up onto it.

"So where are we going?" He asked out of the blue.

"Back to the abandoned building in downtown." I answered as if I'd planned it out over a period of at least a week.

He nodded then paused, leaning against the dryer.

"What's with the cloths?" He asked quaintly as he looked over at me.

"The machine washes them." I answered, tapping the metal washer with one fingernail.

He nodded and waited.

"What does this do?" He asked, reaching over and pointing to the round dial.

"That's how you tell it how long you want the cloths in for and how many there are." I answered, watching his finger move to the soil gauge.

"And this?" He asked.

"That's where you tell it how dirty the cloths are." And that one was cranked to high.

"And this one?" He asked as his hand moved to the next one.

"That's where you tell it whether to be gentle or rough." I answered and turned to look at him.

He was standing directly in front of me, between my dangling legs and staring at me with his frightening smirk.

"I need one of those." He commented before pressing his lips to mine.

And for the record, he didn't need one of those gauges.

"Well, that'd be pretty embarrassing if any of the others where here to see this, eh?" Wolf asked as he leaned against the frame of the door with his arms crossed, smirking playfully.

"Yeah, and it'd also be embarrassing if they saw what I'll do to you if you tell them. And anyway, haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Shadow replied as he came at Wolf.

"Hey, cool it, grandpa, no need for threats." Wolf taunted, stepping away from the door as he smiled at Shadow.

Shadow balled his fists. "All right, smart-alic, I ban you to breakfast duty." Shadow stated as he caught Wolf in a head lock and dragged him towards the kitchen. I slid off of the washer and followed them, smiling as I watched Wolf struggling in Shadow's grasp.


End file.
